GAME NOTES
DURHAM, N.H -- The fifth-ranked University of New Hampshire men's hockey team (7-2-4, 5-1-2 HE) travels to league foe UMass-Lowell (2-10-2, 2-8-0 HE) on Thursday (7 p.m.) at Tsongas Center and will play host to Vermont (1-6-4, 1-5-3 HE) on Sunday (4 p.m) at Whittemore Center. The Wildcats are ranked in the top five for the first time since Nov. 10, 2008.

SCOUTING THE RIVER HAWKS: UMass.-Lowell enters Thursday's game with a 2-10-2 record and a 2-8-0 mark in Hockey East play.The River Hawks are trying to snap a five-game losing streak, which started with a 2-1 loss to New Hampshire on Nov. 6. UML is coming off back-to-back non-conference home losses to Minnesota State (8-3, 3-2) last weekend. Sophomore forward Riley Wetmore is leading the way offensively with 12 points (6g, 6a) in 14 games. Doug Carr and Marc Boulanger continue to split time in net for the River Hawks. Carr is 2-6-1 with a 3.37 GAA and a .903 save percentage, while Boulanger is 0-4-1 with a 4.25 GAA and a .868 save percentage.

SERIES HISTORY VS. UMASS-LOWELL: The Wildcats lead the all-time series with the River Hawks at 52-30-15 in 97 all-time meetings between the two schools dating back to Dec. 6, 1983.UNH captured a 2-1 win in the teams only meeting this season on Nov. 6 at Tsongas Center. Coach Umile owns a 45-19-10 all-time record against the River Hawks in his coaching career. Phil DeSimone is the active leader in scorer against the River Hawks with six points (1g, 5a) in 10 games. Matt DiGirolamo is 1-1-0 lifetime against UML.

LAST TIME THESE TEAMS MET (11/6/10 AT MASS-LOWELL): John Henrion registered a goal and an assist including the game-winner to lift the 10th-ranked men's ice hockey team to a 2-1 win over Massachusetts-Lowell in Hockey East action at Tsongas Center. Dalton Speelman broke the ice at 4:25 of the first as the sophomore scored on a wrister from the left slot. The play was setup on a pin-point right-to-left pass from Henrion, while Matt Campanale was also credited with an assist on the goal. New Hampshire controlled play in the opening frame with an 18-8 shot advantage, but were 0-2 on the power play in the period.UML netted the equalizer with a power play goal at 9:35 of second period. The goal came on the River Hawks second shot of the period. The goal was scored by Matt Ferreira on a shot that hit the goal pipe and bounced in. Shayne Thompson and Chad Ruhwedel assisted on the tally. New Hampshire went back on top with a goal by Henrion that found its way through traffic and under the pads of UML netminder Doug Carr at 13:25 of the second. Greg Burke and Austin Block assisted on the eventual game-winner that came after a New Hampshire offensive flurry. UNH held a 15-4 shot edge in the frame despite three River Hawk power plays. Play was even in a scoreless third period with the River Hawks holding a 13-10 shot edge thanks in large part to 1:38 of 6-4 power play, empty-net play to conclude the contest.DiGirolamo stopped 24 shots including 13 in the final frame. He improves to 4-1-2 overall. Carr, who turned away 41 shots, falls to 2-3-1 on the season. The Wildcats held a commanding 43-25 shot advantage.

SCOUTING THE CATAMOUNTS: Vermont enters Sunday's game with New Hampshire with a 1-6-4 overall mark and a 1-5-3 mark in Hockey East. The Catamounts are trying to snap a three-game unbeaten streak. UVM's only win was a 5-3 win over Boston College on Nov. 13, 2010. Last weekend, the Catamounts tied Northeastern 2-2 on Nov. 26 and lost to Boston College 6-0 on Nov. 28. Vermont is led offensively by Wahsontiio Stacey, who has seven points in 11 games with six goals and an assist. In net, junior Rob Madore is 1-6-4 with a 3.06 GAA and a .899 save percentage.

SERIES HISTORY VS. VERMONT: The Wildcats own the advantage in the all-time series vs. Vermont at 68-16-4 in 88 all-time meetings dating back to Dec. 14, 1963. UNH is 10-2-3 against the Catamounts since they became a member of Hockey East during the 2005-06 season. This year, the Wildcats won regular season series 2-0-1 with a 5-2 win up in Burlington, a 5-4 overtime win and a 3-3 overtime tie in the last two meetings (both at Whittemore Center). Coach Umile in his 20-year coaching career has registered a 24-6-3 mark against Vermont in 32 meetings. Overall, the Wildcats are 18-3-3 in the last 24 meetings with Vermont. Captain Peter LeBlanc is the leading active scorer against Vermont with 14 points in 12 games, while Brian Foster is 4-1-1 in seven all-time appearances against UVM.

LAST TIME THESE TEAMS MET (March 14, 2010): Jay Anctil scored at 15:52 of overtime to lift the Vermont men's ice hockey team to a 1-0 victory against in the decisive Game 3 of the Hockey East quarterfinals at the Whittemore Center. UNH goaltender Brian Foster finished with a career-high 50 saves, including nine in the extra session. He stopped 11 shots in the first period, followed by 14 and 16 in the subsequent periods of regulation.

LAST TIME OUT (11/27/10 VS. MERRIMACK): Matt DiGirolamo recorded a career-high 41 saves and Paul Thompson tallied a goal and an assist to lift the sixth-ranked men's hockey team to Saturday night's 2-1 Hockey East victory against 18th-ranked Merrimack College at the Whittemore Center. Following two scoreless periods of play, the Warriors capitalized on a power play to take a 1-0 lead at 4:12 of the third period. Joe Cucci won possession in the left corner and moved the puck to Stephane Da Costa in the lower-left circle. Da Costa quickly threw the puck to the top of the crease and Chris Barton redirected a shot into the net. That lead was short-lived, however, as UNH rallied to tie the score at 7:15 on a goal by Damon Kipp, whose shot from the right circle found the upper-right corner of the cage. Thompson, with the pass from the slot to Kipp, and Mike Beck set up the goal.New Hampshire took a 2-1 lead at 11:53 when Thompson scored his seventh goal of the season. Mike Sislo led a rush down the left side of the slot and dropped a pass diagonally back to Thompson, whose shot from the inner-right circle beat Merrimack goalie Joe Cannata (25 saves). Matt Campanale was also credited with an assist.

DECEMBERS TO REMEMBER: UNH has won seven-straight games in December including a perfect 6-0 over the last two seasons. New Hampshire's last loss in December came on Dec. 28, 2007 at North Dakota.
Year Record GF/GA
2009-10 3-0-0 11-6
2008-09 3-0-0 14-10

'CATS EXTENDS WHITTEMORE CENTER UNBEATEN STREAK TO 23 AGAINST HOCKEY EAST FOE: With a 2-1 win over Merrimack, UNH is 17-0-7 in the last 24 Hockey East contests at Whittemore Center. New Hampshire's last home league loss came on Jan. 24, 2009 against BU.

THOMPSON FIRST IN HOCKEY EAST IN SCORING; LINEMATES RIGHT BEHIND: Paul Thompson ranks first in Hockey East in scoring with 18 points, while his linemates Phil DeSimone (17 pts) and Mike Sislo (16 pts) rank second and fifth, respectively.

DIGI TURNS ASIDE CAREER-HIGH 41 AGAINST MERRIMACK: Matt DiGirolamo stopped a career-high 41 shots including 33 shots in the final two periods against the Warriors. In eight league starts, DiGirolamo has a 1.73 GAA and a .941 save percentage with two goals or fewer allowed in six games.

DeSIMONE FIRST IN HOCKEY EAST IN ASSISTS: Phil DeSimone has a league-best 13 assists this season.

1ST IN 2ND AND 3RD: UNH ranks first in Hockey East in second and third period scoring. The 'Cats have a league-best 20 goals in the second and 14 tallies in the third.

DiGIROLAMO LOGGING THE MINUTES: Matt DiGirolamo has a notched a league-best 795:54 of time between the pipes for New Hampshire.

'CATS OFF TO BEST START SINCE 2006-07: UNH is off to its best start since the 2006-07 season when the 'Cats were 10-2-1 over the first 13 games.Year Record (Pct.) Final Record
2010-11 7-2-4 (.692) ---
2009-10 4-6-3 (.423) 18-14-7
2008-09 5-5-3 (.507) 20-13-5
2007-08 8-4-1 (.653) 25-10-3
2006-07 10-2-1 (.807) 26-11-2

UNH HOCKEY ON TELEVISION: UNH will have nine games broadcast live on TV in 2010-11. NESN will air five games, three will air on CBS College Sports, while one will air locally on ONN (Ohio).
DATE GAME Channel RES.
Oct. 8 at Miami CBS-College Sports L, 3-6
Oct. 9 at Miami ONN (OHIO) W, 6-3
Nov. 19 Boston U. NESN W, 5-2
Dec. 10 at Maine CBS-College Sports
Jan. 22 Boston U. NESN
Feb. 4 Maine NESN
Feb. 5 Maine NESN
Feb. 18 at Vermont CBS-College Sports
March 4 at Boston College NESN

ALL IN THE FAMILY: UNH junior defenseman Blake Kessel is the younger brother of Toronto Maple Leafs forward Phil Kessel, while sophomore forward Scott Pavelski is the younger brother of Joe Pavelski of the San Jose Sharks.

WILDCAT AWARDS: Here is a list of awards that Wildcat players have won to date this season:
Player Award Date
Blake Kessel INCH Preseason All-America First Team 10/7
Blake Kessel InsideHockey.com's Hobey Watch 10/7
Matt DiGirolamo HE Defensive Player of the Week 10/18
UNH Wildcats HE Team of the Week 11/8
Matt DiGirolamo HE Player of the Week 11/8
Matt DiGirolamo INCH National Player of the Week 11/8
Paul Thompson HE co-Player of the Week 11/2